9:51 ¶ And it came to pass, when the time was come
that he should be received up, he stedfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem,
52 And sent messengers before his face:
and they went, and entered into a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for him.
53 And they did not receive him, because
his face was as though he would go to Jerusalem. 54 And when his disciples James and John saw this,
they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and
consume them, even as Elias did? 55 But
he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are
of. 56 For the Son of man is not come to
destroy men’s lives, but to save them. And they went to another village.
The disciples expressed
their all too human ambition for status in the previous passage. They wanted to
hold back others, not of their group, who were preaching in Christ’s name. Now,
they want to kill those who do not welcome Christ. These Samaritans and the
Jews were in conflict over where they were to worship which resulted in them
refusing to receive Christ after He diplomatically sent messengers to alert
them of His coming thereby invoking the wrath of His followers. They knew He
was headed to Jerusalem. Note the following when Jesus came to Sychar, a city of
Samaria and the woman at the well was speaking to Him. Another village will be
blessed instead with the Saviour’s presence.
John 4:20 Our fathers
worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where
men ought to worship.
Reminds me of the
history of political Christianity throughout Europe and the Middle East for two
thousand years. Supposed Christians lobbied for power and privilege using the
faith as an excuse or platform for power and murder. They closed ranks and
persecuted other Christians who did not do things exactly their way or
acknowledge their authority. They killed, to the tune of millions, other
non-conforming believers and non-Christians.
Christ condemned all of
that.
The reference to Elias,
Elijah from the Hebrew, can be found in 2Kings, chapter 1.
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